


Team Building

by Canaan



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Team Dynamics, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 20:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/626035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canaan/pseuds/Canaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce feels a little bad about not saying goodbye, but if he did, they'd try to talk him out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Team Building

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yamx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yamx/gifts).



> Written for Yamx as a gift for Fandom Stocking. Beta by Sahiya. Any remaining mistakes are All My Fault.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own them and I'm not making any money.

Bruce has come to accept life as a drifter. It's always interesting, he often gets to help people, and he never stays in one place enough to develop ties. It gets lonely sometimes, but as long as he doesn't get attached, the Other Guy can never hurt someone he loves.

Accepting Tony's invitation to visit Stark Tower and play with his toys is natural. Tony may be prickly sometimes, and he's got an ego the size of Texas, but he's a good guy underneath. Not to mention they have fascinating conversations on subjects most people can't even understand. He's also unafraid of the Other Guy. Which, given that he's Iron Man, makes some sense.

But after about a week, Bruce starts to get itchy feet.

It isn't that he wants to leave, and as long as he stays inside Stark Tower, he's not likely to have the Other Guy rampaging through New York City. It's just time. It makes him nervous, holding still--an accident waiting to happen. He's actually debating whether he should pack his few possessions and disappear when the lightning comes.

Of course, it brings with it the thunder.

Thor is the ultimate jock. Bruce wants to like him, but as a nerd, part of him keeps screaming that the good looks and bonhomie are simply the camouflage of a natural enemy. However, Thor's got no idea how to navigate the world he's in now, and it's not like Tony can teach him social skills. That leaves Pepper and Bruce, and Pepper has a company to run.

Well, since both the alien demigod and the Other Guy survived plummeting from the helicarrier to the earth, it's not like there's much danger to Thor.

He thinks he's off the hook when Agents Barton and Romanoff show up. Apparently Tony's got the idea in his head that the Avengers will live and be based in his tower when they aren't running around on the helicarrier, and the two SHIELD agents are to inspect the plans and premises and rule on suitability, requesting changes when necessary.

They seem so much more fragile than Thor or Tony.

They do help with Thor's education a bit, but there's only so much help they can be when they have such bland, businesslike expressions in place. In fact, they're so businesslike, so shut off from the people they've fought and nearly died with, Bruce finds himself wondering what they're hiding. And as long as they're hiding something, he isn't comfortable leaving.

Four weeks after the SHIELD debriefing, the penthouse has been repaired and the living spaces on the floors below are, well, livable, if not "complete" to Tony's satisfaction. Barton and Romanoff have become Clint and Natasha, however awkwardly, and are moved in along with a certain amount of SHIELD equipment. Tony promptly commandeers the equipment, nominally so he can integrate it with the HouseNet. Bruce suspects the real motive is a thorough vetting, but he doesn't say anything.

Three days later, while Pepper commandeers Tony to brief him on retrofitting proposals for soon-to-be-former nuclear power plants, Bruce takes over the equipment checks. It's not hard--JARVIS is doing most of the work anyway. Thor is watching _Star Wars_ , which Bruce and Tony agree is an essential part of modern culture.

Then Natasha and Clint walk in, carefully bracketing Agent Coulson.

Natasha is grinning, which is somehow disturbing in itself, and Clint looks like he just got the best birthday present ever. Pepper faints. Tony and Bruce both lunge for her even as Tony begins a tirade about Nick Fury's ancestry, sexual habits, and potential contortionist ability. Bruce can't think of anything to add to that, so he focuses on Pepper, overwhelming the dangerous possibilities of anger with concern. 

At this point, Thor leans over the back of the sofa and asks, "Is this common amongst the people of Midgaard? This ability to rise from the dead?"

Coulson still looks a little pale and doesn't move quite as well as usual. He has an impressive scar on his chest as a souvenir of his brush with death. Natasha and Clint insist that for a while, no one knew if he would make it. Coulson shakes his head and points out that death didn't meet his control needs. 

Eventually the entire dysfunctional crew gets him ensconced in a comfortable chair and Pepper and Bruce join forces to hide his briefcase, forcing him to take the afternoon off. It's only lying in bed that night that Bruce thinks about how easy it was for all of them to come together and protect one of their own. Even from himself.

Bruce is packed and ready to go by the following evening. He doesn't tell the others, though he's left a note explaining why he's gone, and promising to be available whenever the Avengers are needed. He feels a little bad about not saying goodbye, but if he did, they'd try to talk him out of it. And if he doesn't do it now, he's not sure he can do it at all. 

In the garage, he discovers Captain Rogers parking his bike--one last obstacle to navigate. "I rode straight through to get here," Cap says. "I'll feel a lot better when I've seen him for myself." His gaze flicks to Bruce's duffel bag and then back to his face. "Going somewhere?" 

Bruce hunches in on himself automatically, a habit he's picked up in his years traveling, and one he loathes. "It's not safe for me to stay in the city. You know that as well as I do."

There's no disingenuity on Cap's face when he replies, "I do?" 

"I'm dangerous." Bruce looks away. "The longer I stay in one place, the more likely it is I'll lose control. It's bound to happen sooner or later."

The silence hanging between them grows awkward. "Dr. Banner, I'm a soldier, not a scientist," Cap says, "so maybe there's something here I'm missing. But isn't everyone on this team dangerous?"

Bruce laughs, and it sounds thin and uneasy in his own ears. "Yeah, they're dangerous when they want to be. I'm dangerous when I _don't_. What happens when I lose control, and the Other Guy goes after somebody who isn't a demigod? Jesus, Agent Coulson almost died because somebody had a weapon. I _am_ a weapon."

Captain Rogers looks thoughtful. "He did. You know, when the shock passed, and the relief, I called Director Fury and gave him a piece of my mind. Agent Coulson isn't a super soldier or an assassin or anything. He's just a guy, and just being near us is dangerous."

Bruce nods, relieved that someone is willing to listen to reason.

"But you know what? I thought about it on my way back. I thought about it a lot, and there's something about him we're forgetting. And it's got nothing to do with gamma rays or Hydra weapons."

"What's that?"

The abstracted look faded, and Captain Rogers' gaze hit Bruce full-force. "He survived." 

After a few moments where all Bruce can do is stand and stare, Cap claps him on the shoulder and slips past him toward the elevator.

Coulson survived. Natasha outmaneuvered the Other Guy one-on-one. The newest version of Tony's armor comes when called, and he will always be between Pepper and danger. 

And they all want Bruce to stay.

Kind enough to love the man. Tough enough to survive the monster.

He sighs, and his shoulders straighten of their own accord. As he turns, the elevator begins to close on Captain Rogers. "Cap," he calls out. "Hold the door."


End file.
